Senior thesis
A senior thesis has been a requirement for graduation at Shimer College since the early Waukegan period. It is intended to represent a culmination of the previous four years of study, and to represent the integration of different ideas from different areas of the core curriculum. In the Chicago period, students have the option of giving a thesis defense. .]] Further reading *Official page, from shimer.edu *:The Senior Thesis, an in-depth inquiry into a question or topic of the student’s choice, represents the culmination of the student’s academic experience at Shimer. The Thesis is the ideal opportunity for the Shimer student to work closely with a member of the faculty. It is guided by a member of the faculty chosen by the student, with another faculty member serving as second reader. *"State of Academic Affairs Address", Barbara Stone, 2011-11-13: *:Secondly, the senior thesis. The faculty has had concerns about the thesis for quite a while. Some theses are very strong and exemplify a student’s best work. Others are weaker, even marginal, definitely not the culmination of a student’s studies at Shimer. Some students have had difficulty completing their theses on time and haven’t allowed enough time for revision and polishing. We have “tweaked” the process a fair amount over the years – adding time during IS6 for students to work on their theses, making adjustments in the calendar and what has begun to feel like endlessly clarifying dates by which drafts and theses need to be submitted if a student wants to have any chance to graduate. Fortunately the number of ABT (the so-called “All but the thesis”) students has lessened over the years, but there are still some. The thesis is a very difficult assignment for students because of its scope, length, and the need to define and narrow down a larger topic. Yet the faculty still has not been entirely satisfied with the process. *:Beginning in the 2013-14 academic year, the senior thesis will become part of the core curriculum and will be awarded a letter grade, just like all other courses in the Core. The credits will be divided over the two semesters. We have been able to do this without increasing the total number of required core course credits, which would have had the effect of reducing elective course requirements. We have removed IS1, Integrated Studies I: Analysis Logic and Rhetoric, from the Core Curriculum. It has been “on the books” for decades, but we have not offered it for a number of years. Students have received credit for this course once they have successfully passed Soc 1 and Hum 2, but since recent students have not needed the course, this has turned into “bonus” credits. This change will be implemented in Fall 2013 so that students aren’t earning credit for IS1, Thesis Prep and Senior Thesis. In addition, the faculty recently reviewed the policy around thesis defenses. Here, there have likewise been great disparities in the quality of the defenses, the quality of the theses being defended, and in some cases, the appropriateness of a thesis defense based on the scope of the project. Given the increasing sizes of graduating classes and the fact that theses defenses are public examinations, the faculty has determined that “entitling” every student to a defense does not serve the students or the College well. Some years only one or two students have wanted a defense, sometimes more, and they have been able to get the thesis done by an early date of submission. However, the faculty could find themselves in a position of having to prepare defenses for twenty or more seniors; for numerous reasons this is unmanageable. Therefore, at the October 18, 2011 faculty meeting, the faculty changed the policy regarding the senior thesis defense from “Students have the option of oral defense of the senior thesis” to “Students have the option to apply for the oral defense of the Senior Thesis.” The faculty will then need to determine annually which ones merit a defense, and what is a reasonable and manageable number of defenses to host. The faculty will be generous about this – there is much support for them – but it also wants public defenses to be held as appropriate, in regards to topic, quality and manageability. Student perspectives *The Synthesis of a Thesis, by Eli Nelson: *:The senior thesis, a requirement for graduation, can strike fear into even the bravest academic hearts. I remember sitting in on a thesis defense when I was a first-year student, and the prospect of some day being the principle participant seemed surreal. Ergo, I didn’t give it much more thought with the exception of a few well-placed, panicked reminders. *:Now I am a senior and must give thought to--and actually do work on--my thesis. The process of preparing for my thesis has been much longer than I thought it would be when I sat down this summer to start work on it. It seems that while I was avoiding thinking about that deadline, I filled my time with texts that would later service the research and writing of my thesis. *Thesis-related posts on blog.shimer.edu **"It Begins", Alexandra Rosenberg, 2012-04-30: **:Some people have told me that I am crazy for starting my thesis so soon, but people have started sooner than I! I have a little under a year to complete my project, which is already looking daunting. Currently, I am halfway through the first book on my reading list, Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation. It is pretty wonderful so far, I would recommend (at least the first half of) it to anyone interested in knowing a little more about feminism. Category:Shimer College curriculum